Harvey Brilliant In Return

Mets ace Matt Harvey made his regular season return to the mound today and it’s as if he never left. The 26-year old right-hander pitched six shutout innings, walked one and struck out nine while thoroughly out-pitching fellow ace Stephen Strasburg.

Harvey’s fastball sat in the 94-97 range, and although he lacked his usual command of the pitch early in the game, by the later innings he was spotting it in all quadrants of the strikezone. His second best pitch on the day was his changeup which usually came in at 88-mph and had serious fade at the bottom of the zone. Harvey’s curveball had nice bite to it all day, but he failed to locate the pitch early on. However in the 5th and 6th innings it was as sharp as ever. His usually devastating slider was almost a non-factor, as Matt never seemed to have a feel for the pitch.

The Connecticut native was never really in trouble, and the few times he put runners on he buckled down and made quick work of his opponents.

Overall the Mets couldn’t have dreamt up a better first start for The Dark Knight. He faced a potent Washington lineup and simply dominated them– especially Bryce Harper, who went 0-3 with three strikeouts against New York’s ace.

I look forward to seeing how Harvey fares in his next start, which will take place next week at Citi Field.

Kirk is very knowledgeable of MLB's minor league system and brings a passion for writing about the stars of tomorrow. Kirk is also a contributing writer for MetsMerizedOnline and MetsMinors.net. He is a native New Yorker and lifelong Mets fan. Follow him on Twitter @KirkC_.